Former National Champion Calls Out Kirk Herbstreit For College Football Playoff Comments in Viral Post

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nick Meyer | Last updated Dec 24, 2024 3:29 AM ET

The first round of the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff included blowout wins by Ohio State over Tennessee and Penn State over SMU, along with wins by Texas over Clemson and Notre Dame over Indiana that weren't particularly close.

In response, prominent college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit shared his thoughts on the weekend, saying that the committee should focus more on who teams beat and rather than how many wins they compiled over the course of the season.

Herbstreit's comments were met with stiff resistance from a former national championship winning quarterback, who said that Herbstreit's plan would "destroy the regular season" if it were to become a reality.

"So the most powerful voice in the sport is telling us to forget winning and losing games but rather just pick who he thinks are the 'best' teams???" former Florida State national champion and All-American Danny Kanell said on X Monday.

"Couldn't disagree more. If he gets his way it would destroy the regular season."

Herbstreit's comments were originally directed at Big Ten representative Indiana, who lost to Notre Dame 27-17 on Friday.

"I hope next year the committee won't get caught up in what the social media and a lot of people who are fringe fans get caught up in, which is wins,' Herbstreit said.

"They had 11 games, they must be good. Who did they beat I think is much more important than how many wins you had.

"Indiana having 11 wins and beating nobody, that doesn't mean they are one of the 12 best teams. There's a big difference between 'deserving and 'best.'"

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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